Google Chrome now uses native GTK window decorations on GNU/Linux

Google Chrome has been criticised for its use of a proprietary implementation of Window Buttons, also known as Window Decorations. This made Google Chrome look weird and even ugly compared to many applications running on GNU/Linux as the buttons Google Chrome used were based on one of the earliest styles Ubuntu used around its launch in 2007.

This is thankfully old news. Google has updated Chrome in order to use native GTK-styled buttons which will adjust to the thee you're currently using on your system if it runs a distro that supports GTK. That includes Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and many other -buntu distros as well as distros like Linux Mint.

Here are the Window Buttons before the change:

And here they are after the update:

This is a change that has been requested since Chrome's launch on GNU/Linux back in 2010, which means that we've been waiting for seven years to finally see Google follow the guidelines.

Needless to say, it's a minor, but awesome change for GNU/Linux users. Personalisation is one of the strong points of GNU/Linux and having that one pesky application not follow your theme can be a huge issue for some. So big that some users prefer Firefox on GNU/Linux for that reason alone.

This change is only present in development builds of Chrome, but it should reach regular users in the coming weeks.

Dennis D. Bednarz

Dennis D. Bednarz is the Editor-in-Chief at ModMy. He has been a recognised member of the Microsoft community for years and has moved to technology hacking after the death of Windows 10 Mobile. He swears often and drinks tea like a mad lad. You can go ahead and follow him on Twitter at @DennisBednarz.